1st 25pgs of SAVE THE CAT (screenwriting book)

Hey EJ :)

I just bought this book last weekend. It was a fun read but I'm not sure how much of worth I gleaned from it compared to "Story" or "Screenplay." I think I'm going to read it again.

What's your opinion of it?
 
Hi Jared,

I'll let you know when I finished reading it myself (I'm late to it and reading it out of sequence) but so far, it's strongest element seems to be for structure (more streamlined version of HERO'S JOURNEY* say), the logline was helpful, but nothing you couldn't get off the net already, and the re-write section seemed to nail most issues with failing specs.

I'll chime back in when I'm finished tho.

EJ

* Must own book IMO.
 
EJ,

Thanks for the helpful hint on the book. I went out and bought it today. I can read it during a short trip I'm taking. There was another book, almost like a second edition or continuation of 'Save the Cat'? I look at that later.

Again, thank you.
 
Yeah Blake followed up SAVE THE CAT with SAVE THE CAT - IT GOES TO THE MOVIES or it's titled something like that. Aparently, it's sold out on Amazon already.

EJ
 
I read this book. It seems more like an introductory book, which was useful, because it was one of the first books I read.

However, it's mostly over-generalized, and if anyone already has a decent amount of know-how in screenwriting, I say just go to your library, sit in a comfy couch, read the logline section and the re-writing section. You'll have yourself a good read, add a bit of some good info to your lexicon, and can then continue searching for books.

God I love the library.
 
What I got from it mainly was the nuggets, like the title, which refers to a character-establishing moment where a good deed is done.

Another was "The Pope In The Pool" - a way to "cover" dialog-heavy exposition by doing it in an incongruous setting, like the phrase suggests.

All in all, a light read, but worthwhile.

For my money the king of all screenwriting books is still "Story" by Robert McKee. What a great book...
 
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